Advanced Recycling Plants Suspend Operations, Raising Doubts About Viability

In recent weeks two of the United States’ few advanced-recycling facilities have halted production. The Freepoint Eco-Systems plant in Hebron, Ohio, and the Braven Environmental plant in Zebulon, North Carolina, suspended operations after state regulators cited environmental violations involving harmful air pollution and hazardous waste.

New York Times

Advanced recycling—also called chemical recycling—uses heat and chemical reactions to break down plastic waste into its molecular building blocks. The approach has been promoted by the chemicals industry and the Trump administration as a potential solution to plastic waste. According to the environmental advocacy group Beyond Plastics, the United States now has only seven operational advanced-recycling plants, down from eleven in 2023, a scale that “barely [makes] a dent in the amount of plastic that’s discarded.”

New York Times

The recent closures have strengthened critics who argue that advanced recycling releases toxic chemicals into the atmosphere and cannot be reliably or economically scaled. These opponents contend that the process may create more pollution than it mitigates, labeling it a “false solution” to the plastic crisis.

New York Times

State regulators in Ohio and North Carolina identified violations related to air emissions and hazardous waste handling, prompting the shutdowns. While the article notes that the chemicals industry and the former Trump administration have heavily promoted advanced recycling, no direct statements from those promoters are provided in the source material.

New York Times

• “Advanced recycling, also called chemical recycling, uses heat and chemical reactions to break down plastic waste into its molecular building blocks.” — *The New York Times*

New York Times

• “Both closures followed environmental violations cited by state regulators involving harmful air pollution and hazardous waste.” — *The New York Times*

New York Times

• “Now, just seven advanced recycling plants remain in the United States, barely making a dent in the amount of plastic that’s discarded, according to Beyond Plastics, an environmental advocacy group.” — *The New York Times*

New York Times

• “The industry’s troubles have bolstered critics who have called advanced recycling a false solution.” — *The New York Times*

New York Times

• “They say it releases toxic chemicals into the atmosphere and cannot reliably and economically be ramped up.” — *The New York Times*

New York Times